How Did Hernan Cortes Overcome Well-Established Native American

Moctezuma (1466-1520), was the ninth emperor of Mexico from 1502 to 1520. The Aztec Empire, which Moctezuma ruled until 1520, was taken over by Guetemoc after he was killed by his own men. The fall of the Aztec Empire was caused by Hernan Cortes, a Spaniard who invaded Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Empire, in the year 1519. This letter will include reasons as to why Moctezuma is considered to be a traitor and coward by his own people for betraying them in a time when they needed a strong leader.

Conquistador, written by Buddy Levy about the famous ventures of Hernan Cortes, places the reader in the 16th century, or the era c.1450-c. 1750 ce. During this time, the idea of exploration was spreading quickly, as kingdoms and empires in Europe sought to expand their territory. Portugal, with Spain following after, led the way for exploration as they headed south. Spain, however, ventured west, driven by a patriotic attitude of expanding past their borders. Levy tells the story of Hernan Cortes, originally setting sail from Spain, as he sailed from Cuba to the shores of Mexico in 1519, eager about the discovery of new lands. Cortes, as well as many other explorers during this time, was inspired by the Three G’s: God, gold, and glory. He planned to conquer the new lands for Spain, to convert the natives to Catholicism, and to obtain the riches of the land, mostly gold.

In 1519, Hernándo Cortés, a Spanish Conquistador ventured into Tenochtitlan, the capital of Aztec empire, searching for gold and glory. He set out to conquer the empire and to capture the Aztecs in order to achieve his ambitions. Moctezuma, the highly respected leader of the mighty Aztec Empire, came confronting with Hernán Cortés, the leader of a small band of professional European soldiers from a huge island that lay six day’s sail to the east. In “Malintzin’s Choices: An Indian Women in the Conquest of Mexico” and “Mexico and the Spanish Conquest”, Camilla Townsend and Ross Hassig respectively present one histories in their own interpretations of the conquest of Mexico.

Among the explorers of North America that sought out and plundered the natives’ riches, Hernando De Soto is noted for combing over the southeast. During this journey De Soto is noted for meeting and sending Chief Tuscaloosa to his untimely death. Not only did Hernando De Soto and his crew kill Chief Tuscaloosa but they were known for conquering other natives in lust over their riches, such as gold and silver, not to mention their territory. The natives stood no chance against Hernando De Soto and his men, not only were the natives at a disadvantage technologically but the had been already injured socially and economically. Not only did Hernando bring destruction and death by way of conquest but he also brought germs, viruses and other illnesses

The author gives insight on how many ways the Spaniards used their power to assist in the downfall of the Aztecs. The reason why the Spaniards became victorious, was because the Spaniards were looked upon as if they were gods because of their outer appearance. The Aztecs broke bread and welcomed the Spaniards with gifts and parties. The Aztecs triggered their relationship with the Spaniards by holding a ritual for the arrival of the god which included a human sacrifice. The Spaniards didn’t agree with the rituals and began to despise the Aztecs.

Most books have either portrayed Hernán Cortés as either a brave conquistador hero who helped transform Mexico for Spanish use, or as a cruel racist who helped instill a genocide upon millions of Mexican natives. The truth, however, can be a lot less black or white. In the book Victors and Vanquished: Spanish and Nahua Views of the Conquest of Mexico, we see that the moral nature of Cortés is more grey than most think. Cortés, in his conquest of Mexico, has performed good and bad deeds towards his own men and towards the Nahua people.

The advantages that the Spanish had over the Native Americans were extensive; including their weaponry and manpower but especially their vigilance towards the enemy “... for even if the Mexicans sued for peace again, he dared not trust them” (The Conquistadors, Hammond Innes, 1969). This was because the Spanish had a goal of domination and conquest, while the Aztec and the Incas were often ignorant and initially had no great fears of the Europeans. With the power of muskets, cannons, warships and more advanced technology, the Europeans were able to conquer and overwhelmed the Natives. While also leaving them in awe after creating great sounds with their firearms, they used the intimidation and fury of battle to scare the Indians. A large percentage

The Aztecs were a very religious group who were disciplined and independent. They were powerful warriors that conquered and raided neighbouring cities. The Aztec were educated and formed defense alliances, but this could not help the Aztec’s society as they were all killed off by the Spanish. This conflict and defeat of the Aztecs was unavoidable. It was unavoidable because of the Spanish’s obsession with gold, god, glory. Gold might have been the biggest cause of the Aztec empire's collapse. At the time of the conquest gold meant power and wealth. This meant the Spanish knew in order to get more gold they needed to expand. Secondly god, god was another big reason why, the Aztec empire had collapsed. The Spaniards and Islam were also in conflict,

In contrast, the Spanish were able to conquer the Aztecs and Incas much quicker. Some of this was due to help they received from other groups of Natives and the situations that were present in these societies when the Spanish arrived. Most of this was due to the debilitating effects European diseases had on Native Americans.

7. The spanish believed that it was just for them to try to spread their religion to everyone, therefore they conquered anyone who didn't believe the same things as them and tried to teach the people there how to believe in God the “right”

The Spanish conquest on the Mayans was a significant event during the 1500’s. The Spanish conquest brought their military equipment’s that was no match for the Mayan Indians. As the conquest continued to expand throughout Central America there was little unity among other tribes beside the Mayan empire. The reason for this is because they believe that the Spanish were much inferior to their own beliefs and ancestry.

Individuals tend to think of a “hero” as a kind person, someone who saves the entire population from a dreadful misery. Hernan Cortes, a Spanish soldier and conquistador, is a hero (in the minds of some) for acting courageously and enhancing Spain’s economy with the gold taken from the Aztecs. But as glorious as he may seem, he also killed many Mexican Natives and Aztecs and caused many unnecessary battles and disruptions for them. Aside from disease, Cortes also majorly disrupted the Aztec culture and religion  by converting many to Catholicism. Depending on what facts were taken into consideration throughout his life, he could be seen as a hero, or a villain. Most historians today agree that he was a villain. Although Cortes was respected

The fall of the Aztec Empire was due to the determination of the Spaniards. The Spaniards were destructive. They did not respect the Natives’ religions at all. They almost destroyed all of the Natives’ culture, and now we know very little about Natives. The Spaniards’ greed and obsession with power, this was their main motivation to conquer the Aztec Empire. The Aztecs’ religion is what got them into the most trouble. They sacrificed humans for their Gods, which was wrong in the Spaniards’ eyes (and mine too). They also were very superstitious .The Aztecs may have won the battle against the Spaniards if they too had advanced weaponry and battle tactics. The Aztecs and the Spaniards were vastly different people, however they had similarities. They both killed in the name of religion, and both growing empires willing to do anything to gain more power.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the historical Battle of Tenochtitlan and apply critical reasoning and battle analysis techniques to assess the utilization of intelligence assets and provide alternate outcomes. Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards in 1519, the mighty Aztec Empire was at the height of its power. From their capital city, Tenochtitlan, the Aztec controlled much of what is now known as Mexico and Central America, ruling an estimated 15 million people. The Aztec palaces were as vast and sophisticated as any of those in Europe and their temples rivaled the Egyptian pyramids. The Aztecs acquired many enemies from their brutal rule over neighboring tribes and city-states.

The Spaniards made a big impact in the Americas. They killed many Incas,Tainos, and Aztecs. These populations lost many including their emperors. On the Spaniard 's side they had power by killing Atahualpa and Montezuma they could create colonies and take riched back to their country. The Spaniards weren 't the only ones to look for riches in the New World. Portugal conquered big parts of Central and South